Jones is one hot Hawg

Arkansas quarterback Matt Jones looks for a receiver during the second half against Texas in Fayetteville, Ark., in this Sept. 11, 2004 file photo.

AP Photo LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Matt Jones has been called a freak of nature because of his 4.4 speed as a 242-pound quarterback. He prefers being labeled as the best athlete to play Southeastern Conference football the past four seasons.

And perhaps as a first-round pick in Saturday's NFL draft.

No one expected much from Jones as he prepared for the draft, but then he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds at the Indianapolis scouting combine.

Jones has emerged as one of the most intriguing pro prospects in this weekend's draft. Just last week, he visited the Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins before returning home for a workout with the Philadelphia Eagles.

"It's been fun," he said. "I have enjoyed it. It's a lot better than sitting around the house and doing nothing."

Since he finished his career at Arkansas, where he also moonlighted as a basketball forward for two seasons, Jones can hardly be accused of doing nothing. At the behest of agent Dave Butz, he trained at the Parisi School in New Jersey after his senior season to develop what are now his primary assets -- speed and quickness.

For the last four years, Jones, who helped win the two longest games in college football history at Arkansas, used his long legs to become one of the biggest offensive threats in the SEC. He set the league's career rushing record for a quarterback with 2,535 yards.

He had the ability to elude tackles and sprint past defensive backs, while forcing defensive coordinators to focus their teams' game plans on stopping him. His career average of 7.38 yards per play is second in SEC history to Florida's Danny Wuerffel, who had a 7.75 average while working in Steve Spurrier's offense.

"I think if you ask the players at Florida they would tell you (Jones) was the single most dominating player in the SEC," said Illinois coach Ron Zook, who coached against Jones while at Florida. "That guy was unbelievable. He did it single-handedly. He makes his teammates play at a higher level, which the great ones do."

Zook recalls a game in October 2003 in which Jones nearly led Arkansas to victory after trailing the Gators by 26 points in the fourth quarter. Jones spearheaded a three-touchdown charge in a span of four minutes, but Arkansas eventually fell 33-28.

Jones often fared well in similar pressure situations, as shown by his performances in seven-overtime victories over Ole Miss in 2001 and Kentucky in 2003.

In 2002, he solidified his place in Razorbacks lore when he carried Arkansas to the SEC championship game with a 21-20 win over LSU. In that game, he capped a last-minute, 81-yard drive with a 31-yard touchdown pass to tailback DeCori Birmingham.

Before he completed two long passes on that final possession, Jones had connected on only 2 of his 13 previous attempts.

"There are 38 seconds left and there is a TV timeout," Nutt recalled. "As I approach him, he is humming. Most quarterbacks would not be so laid-back. Most would have been nervous and tense. Matt doesn't think that way. I said, 'You haven't completed a pass all day.' He says, 'I got it.' He then throws the two prettiest passes I have ever seen."

But the same nonchalance Jones exhibited in difficult circumstances on the football field has often made him the target of criticism. Reporters often attacked him for sitting on a medical table during games rather than standing on the sideline with his teammates, and fans said Jones appeared to not hustle in practice.

Jones dismisses those claims.

"People who got to know me never had problems with my so-called laid-back attitude," he said. "That has never been a problem. Others have misunderstood and misperceived some things."

NFL executives aren't part of that group.

Jones seems to have won them over as he has made the transition to wide receiver. At the Senior Bowl in January, Jones caught a touchdown pass.

For a player who says he can count the number of times he was hit hard in college on one hand, competing in the NFL will be a major change.

"There will be more hits I remember than in college," he said. "But I am a bigger receiver and I can absorb some blows."

Finding the right spot for Jones will be a challenge to anyone who selects him, according to Nutt.

"They don't know where to play him. That's the one problem," Nutt said. "But he is a playmaker. The thing about him is you want him to have the ball in his hands."